Before Dark
by KawaiiGaara
Summary: Technically all they need to do is get from point A to point B. That can't be so hard can it? Well what if time was of the essence because a virus had spread across the country infecting everyone who came into contact with it and the only airport that is working is almost 3,000 miles away? Is it hard now?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Aro held the beaker above the small, empty water bottle and poured the clear-ish contents inside. There was enough liquid in the beaker to fill the bottle to the brim. He capped it happily before picking it up with glee. "It is finished Caius!"

The platinum blond man rolled his eyes before snatching the bottle from Aro's hand. "Be careful with it! It is very dangerous you dolt."

Aro narrowed his eyes at his assistant before reclaiming the bottle with a snarl. "You will not tell me what to do Caius. _I_ am _your_ superior, not the other way around."

Caius walked away from Aro and returned to his station.

The two scientists were in a lab station in the basement of a local water distribution company. They had both been working overtime on a vaccine that would neutralize any bacteria in dirty water. It would be used to clean the freshwater lakes all over America. The great thing about the vaccine was that it would be completely tasteless and a single drop was potent enough to clean an Olympic sized swimming pool.

It had taken months for them to finally find a cure for all the bacteria and they hoped that this would be the future. Many different diseases spawned from water contamination. When other countries got word of the remarkable cure, they were sure to want it and would pay good money for it. Aro and Caius knew that soon they would be the richest people in the world, recorded in history books for centuries to come and revered like gods.

"Let's take this to corporate if we're ready." Caius suggested while putting away the numerous documents that had the data for the vaccine, into his briefcase. "It's time to go national."

A smile broke out on Aro's face. "This is it Caius! Our time to shine! Wait until they find out the best thing about the vaccine!"

Caius cocked a brow at Aro. "Care to enlighten me on what that?"

"Once the water is purified with this," he held up the bottle, "then that water can clean other water! It's never ending in purification terms. This one bottle will cure the world."

"In theory, Aro." Caius replied doubtfully. "We've only tested this a couple times. What if something goes wrong?"

The dark haired man looked around the small room at all the chemicals they'd used that sat in their containers. Some were half empty while others were almost completely depleted. A couple rodents that they had tested on were happily drinking the purified water.

"Look at Hedi and Marcus. They seem to love the water."

Caius shrugged. "I guess you're right. We gave them that purified water a week ago and they seem alright. Maybe I'm just being overly cautious."

Aro slung his arm around Caius shoulder as he led the man out of the room. "It is time Caius. Let's make history!"

**A/N: This is a whimsical story I decided to make one day. I hope everyone enjoys it. Oh, pro tip: There **_**will**_** be deaths. So have your tissues ready. (This is the only chapter in third person btw!) And yes, this is the shortest chapter. Also, this story is completely fictional...just thought I'd put that out there.**


	2. Bella

Chapter 1: Bella's P.O.V

I sat at the kitchen table eating a grilled cheese sandwich when my cellphone rang. I knew who it would be and a small smile flittered across my face.

"Hello?" I answered after the fourth ring.

"Hi Bella. It's Katniss."

"Hey Kat. Don't worry, I'm ready. Right now I'm just waiting for him to come over."

"That's good to hear. Peeta can't wait to challenge Jacob in another bake-off."

I stifled a giggle before responding. "He's been living with his dad for years. Peeta should've known Jake could cook."

"I know." Katniss paused and I could hear someone in background saying something. I couldn't quite catch what, but they sounded disgruntled. Katniss sighed into the phone and I almost asked what was wrong. But I don't like to pry so I kept my mouth shut.

"I have to go Bella. But text me when you're on the way. When did you say you'd be here?"

I looked down at the directions I'd printed from Google maps. "If we were to drive there without stopping, it would take twelve hours. But we most likely will stop for things and stay in a motel during the night so expect us there sometime tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll make sure Peeta is here so by the time you get here we'll all be ready to go."

"Cool. I'll text you when we're near."

"See ya Bella."

I hung up and stuffed the phone into my pocket then finished eating my grilled cheese. After my late breakfast, I placed the dish in the sink and headed upstairs to make sure I had everything for the trip.

A part of me was really excited for this impromptu vacation. Graduation was three weeks ago and since college was months away, I had just planned on getting a boring summer job. So when Katniss called and suggested a road trip to New York City, well, I jumped at the chance. The only downside would be leaving Charlie. I hated leaving him alone in the house. But it seemed that Billy, Jacob's father, also had the same idea. So he promised me that he would take Charlie fishing as much as he could without it interfering with his work schedule. So with that taken care of, I returned my focus on the trip.

"Okay, I have my phone, the charger, toiletries, clothes, food in the trunk. Is that everything?" I muttered aloud while walking around my room. "My wallet!" I saw it resting on my dresser and quickly stuffed it into my pocket just as the doorbell rang.

My feet raced down the stairs and stopped abruptly when I noticed Charlie unlocking the door in his police uniform.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked as I slipped into my jacket.

"I'm about to head out right now actually." He told me then opened the door to find Jacob standing there with a goofy grin. "Hey Jake!" He greeted the taller teen with a half hug before returning to me. "Are you leaving today?"

I nodded. "I told you yesterday."

Charlie's face fell. "I'm going to miss you Bells." Before I knew it Charlie was embracing me tightly. "Stay safe okay?"

"Of course Charlie." I murmured, surprised that emotion was welling inside. "I'll send lots of postcards."

He released me and I thought I saw a tear in his eye, but I could've been mistaken. "You'd better." Charlie quickly walked out of the house without closing the door.

Zipping up my jacket I slipped into my shoes and followed Jacob out of the house. I walked over to my car and was surprised when Jacob called out to me from his car.

"Why don't we just carpool? It'll save gas and I have room." He suggested.

I don't know why I didn't think of that myself. Besides, my orange truck couldn't go very fast and made lots of noise. Not very appealing for a road trip. I took all of my bags from the truck bed and moved them into Jacob's car trunk. "This is a good idea." I told him while claiming the passenger seat and buckling my seatbelt.

"Ready to hit the road?" he asked excitedly.

I smiled and nodded quickly. "Let's go. I have the directions right here." I showed him the papers which he glanced at briefly before backing out of my large driveway. Soon the two of us were on the freeway and after a couple of hours, I fell asleep.

When I woke, it was to hear Jacob singling loudly to a country song blasting from the radio.

I cocked a brow at him and lowered the music. "Since when did you listen to country music?"

"Guilt pleasure." Jacob responded sheepishly.

"Where are we?" I asked while gazing out my window at the other cars on the freeway.

"Still in Washington. You weren't sleep long. We have a long way to go before we reach Boise, Idaho." Jacob frowned. "I still can't believe she lives in the woods."

I laughed lightly as his nose crinkled. "She lives in a small village surrounded by woods. There's a difference."

"If you say so. What's her village called again?"

"District 12."

"That's right. How strange."

I shrugged and soon our conversation fell and he turned back up the country music which he sang to while driving.

When night arrived, we found a motel and quickly paid for a room. It was cheap and dingy. A part of me wanted to just sleep in the car, but Jacob insisted on the motel because his seats didn't recline enough for comfort.

"You have a quarter?" he asked when I had curled up on the stiff mattress. I was surprised when I walked into the room and found two twin beds on opposite sides of the wall. I guess a part of me had expected a queen sized bed that we would share. We are dating…

"Bella?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Sorry, I was lost in thought." I tossed him the coin and he popped it into a small slot on the side of an old looking TV. It turned on and unfortunately there were only three stations. One showed the news, the other was an infomercial channel and the third was for children. Jacob kept it on the news station and I watched it until I fell asleep.

"—_precisely Chelsea! I don't know what those two scientists were thinking, but their vaccine is not a vaccine but instead a virus. Unfortunately said virus has already gotten into quite a few states major water supply. But the government is working on sorting out the problem so hopefully the number of people infected by it won't be too high. The death toll right now stands at three hundred and ninety four. These deaths have occurred all over the U.S. Everyone is to be advised, do not drink the water!_


End file.
